Stephen Kolek allowed four hits while pitching into the seventh inning, and Salvador Perez drove in both runs, highlighted by a solo homer, as the visiting Kansas City Royals snapped their six-game losing streak with Sunday’s 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Kolek (2-0) walked just one batter and struck out three over 6 1/3 strong innings to help the Royals end their extended slide and finish the 1-5 road trip on a needed positive note. Perez, meanwhile, had two of Kansas City’s nine hits and provided the only offense needed by the visitors.

Royals relievers Daniel Lynch IV and Lucas Erceg (11 saves) combined to allow one hit and a walk over 2 2/3 innings.

St. Louis’ Andre Pallante (4-4) was also solid while allowing eight hits, but only the two runs, one earned, and striking out seven in 6 2/3 innings. The Cardinals, who entered on a three-game winning streak, were limited to five singles and did not bat with a runner in scoring position until the ninth.

Kansas City wasted no time opening the scoring. Maikel Garcia led off the game with a single up the middle, made it to third on Vinnie Pasquantino’s single coupled with right-fielder Victor Scott III’s throwing error and eventually came home via Perez’s fly out to left.

Perez put the Royals up by two in the fourth, when he led off the frame by sending Pallante’s knuckle-curve ball over the left-field fence.

Kansas City had an opportunity to add on when it loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the ninth. Then, Kyle Isbel, who recorded a pair of hits, struck out and Garcia bounced into a 5-3 double play to end the threat.

Erceg, though, stranded a runner on second when he got Nathan Church to end the contest on a ground out.

St. Louis shortstop Masyn Winn exited in the seventh inning with an apparent injury after beating out a potential double-play grounder.

–Field Level Media

Denny Hamlin tracked down Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, got by with 29 laps remaining and held on to claim the $1 million payday for Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Del.

Briscoe’s No. 19 Toyota took the point from Hamlin’s No. 11 with 52 laps left after the final restart, but Hamlin patiently hunted down his teammate’s Camry, moved by on the frontstretch and won the exhibition race by 0.887 seconds.

The 45-year-old Hamlin won the All-Star Race for the second time (Charlotte, 2015) in his 20th start. It was also his third straight victory at Dover.

Erik Jones finished third followed by Austin Dillon and rookie Connor Zilisch.

The high-banked, one-mile speedway reached out on Lap 2 as the first incident happened. Ryan Preece’s Ford was moved up on the straightaway and got into the No. 5 Chevrolet of reigning title winner Kyle Larson, creating a mess in Turn 1 in a nine-car melee.

The wreck involved Cup champions Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott, whose crews scrambled to repair their cars since the drivers were locked in to the final 200-lap segment.

After a lengthy cleanup, Brad Keselowski continued to pace the field but relinquished the point to polesitter Hamlin after leading the first 16 laps. Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota quickly built a 3½-second lead in 13 circuits.

Bubba Wallace passed Hamlin on the segment’s final restart, and his No. 23 Toyota won it after Riley Herbst spun in a wreck that involved Elliott for a second time, ending the day for the sport’s most popular driver.

AJ Allmendinger gathered the lead from Shane van Gisbergen in the second segment, but the road course specialist later spun. A wreck involving Keselowski, Ross Chastain and Wallace resulted in Chastain’s No. 1 being retired.

Tyler Reddick worked his way back to the front to earn the checkers in the 75-lapper over Briscoe and Hamlin, but JGR’s Ty Gibbs had a tire go down and wrecked while running sixth on Lap 126.

Briscoe passed Hamlin to lead early in the final segment, but Reddick showed strength as did a hard-charging Zilisch as the competition caution neared. Hamlin moved by Reddick to the point as the yellow waved with 125 to go.

Just after Hocevar and William Byron pitted, Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford crashed in Turn 1 after his left-rear tire came apart.

–Field Level Media

Kody Clemens went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs as the Minnesota Twins escaped with a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

Ryan Jeffers hit a solo homer for Minnesota, which salvaged a win in the three-game series. Victor Caratini added an RBI.

Garrett Mitchell and Christian Yelich each hit a solo home run for Milwaukee, which lost for only the second time in its past 10 games. Sal Frelick and Jake Bauers drove in one run apiece for the Brewers

Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (5-2) allowed three runs on six hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out one.

Brewers right-hander Grant Anderson (1-2) allowed one run on two hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief. He followed starter Robert Gasser, who allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits in four innings of his season debut.

Twins reliever Luis Garcia allowed a run in the ninth but notched his second save.

The Twins opened the scoring during the bottom of the first. Austin Martin drew a leadoff walk and scored from first on Clemens’ two-out double to right.

Milwaukee evened the score 1-1 during the top of the second. Frelick doubled to right to drive in Bauers from first base.

Minnesota grabbed a 3-1 lead in the third when Jeffers led off with a single to center, and Clemens followed with a double off the wall in left.

Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio tried to make the catch against the wall, but he could not get there in time. The ball bounced off the wall, ricocheted off his leg and rolled toward the corner.

Chourio chased down the ball and threw toward the infield, but cutoff man Joey Ortiz fired a wild throw past the plate as Jeffers came home. The ball skipped out of play, and umpires awarded Clemens home plate for the equivalent of a little league home run.

The Brewers pulled within 3-2 in the fourth on Mitchell’s solo homer.

Yelich tied the score 3-3 with a solo homer in the fifth.

The power surge continued as Jeffers led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo shot to put the Twins on top 4-3. Caratini added a sacrifice fly in the left to make it 5-3 in the eighth.

The Brewers tried to rally in the ninth but fell short. Bauers hit an RBI single to cut the deficit to 5-4, but Frelick popped up to end the game.

-Field Level Media